When a person dies, a process known as "estate administration" must be carried out. This refers to all the procedures which must be followed in distributing a person's estate to their heirs or devisees.

If the decedent has made a will in Mahoning County, Ohio, the process will play out according to the instructions specified in the will.

Wills typically name an executor. The executor's role revolves around ensuring that the instructions in the will are implemented.

The executor is often the person who will get the most money or property out of the will if it is given effect, because this is the person who will have the greatest incentive to see that the probate process goes as quickly as possible.

What if The Will Does Not Name an Executor?

If a will in Mahoning County, Ohio is silent as to who should be the executor, it is up to the court to decide who should serve in that capacity.

Usually, this will be the person who has the most to gain from the will, or who would gain the most under Ohio's intestacy scheme (the system that distributes the decedent's property to his or her closest living relatives, if he or she dies without a will).

When a will is silent as to who should be the executor, any person who has some direct interest in the outcome can ask to be named executor by the Mahoning County, Ohio court.

When the executor is chosen, they serve as a sort of incarnation of the decedent's estate - the estate's legal interests become the executor's interests, and the executor is expected to protect the estate's interests as they would their own.

Can a Mahoning County, Ohio Estate Administration Attorney Help?

If you are the administrator of an estate, and are not a legal and/or financial professional, you might encounter legal or tax issues with which you are unfamiliar. A Mahoning County, Ohio attorney would be very helpful in such a situation.